> I was told that 55C is a
> good limit for this application.
My opinion, that is more of a design limit. With the surrounding box at 25C,
the breaker shouldn't be nearly that hot even with
maximum rated current flowing continuously. IMO anything more than about 15C
rise over ambient is cause for suspicion.
But it might not be the breaker at fault. Last time I found one warm to the
touch, the wire connection had worked loose and was
getting hot. All it needed was cleaning and tightening.
Low level overloads (eg 18 amps on a 15 amp breaker) can also get them hot, but
not quite hot enough to trip.
Randall
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